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A review by reader_cheryl
Taken Too Soon by Edith Maxwell
4.0
It’s Quaker midwife Rose Carroll and David Dodge’s wedding day. The book opens with the couple greeting guests after the ceremony. David’s father, Herbert, is happy at the match, but David’s mother, Clarinda, not so much. Rose confides to the reader “Clarinda had thrown every obstacle she could onto the path of David’s marrying me.” Clarinda’s expectation is Rose will give up her “silly hobby” and conduct herself as a proper married woman, but it is an expectation David quickly shoots down. In his reply he makes it clear Rose will continue to work as a midwife as she is “fully capable of being both a wife” and a professional midwife. Rose and David’s relationship is countercultural in 1889 and testing of their union comes quickly.
At the reception, David’s long-estranged brother Herbert Currier Dodge, known as Currie, makes an appearance. Up until now, Rose had no idea David had a brother, and is a bit unsettled David has kept this information from her until now. The real conflict lies between Currie and Clarinda and into this tense encounter a telegram arrives for Rose’s father Allan Burroughs Carroll from his sister Miss Drusilla Carroll, Rose’s Aunt Dru. The telegram is urgent and requests Rose’s presence immediately. Frannie Isley, a ward of Rose’s Aunt Tilly, has been murdered. Tilly and Dru are elderly spinsters and live together in West Falmouth located on Cape Cod. Dru requests Rose’s presence right away because, in addition to being a talented midwife, Rose is also an amateur sleuth.
Instead of starting a honeymoon, Rose and David head to West Falmouth to be with Rose’s aunts and to solve a murder. Frannie’s murder exposes long-held secrets that demand resolutions with the power to heal or destroy.
Recommendation for this book
Read it. The historical detail immerses the reader into the Quaker way of life in the late 1880s. The mystery will keep you guessing.
At the reception, David’s long-estranged brother Herbert Currier Dodge, known as Currie, makes an appearance. Up until now, Rose had no idea David had a brother, and is a bit unsettled David has kept this information from her until now. The real conflict lies between Currie and Clarinda and into this tense encounter a telegram arrives for Rose’s father Allan Burroughs Carroll from his sister Miss Drusilla Carroll, Rose’s Aunt Dru. The telegram is urgent and requests Rose’s presence immediately. Frannie Isley, a ward of Rose’s Aunt Tilly, has been murdered. Tilly and Dru are elderly spinsters and live together in West Falmouth located on Cape Cod. Dru requests Rose’s presence right away because, in addition to being a talented midwife, Rose is also an amateur sleuth.
Instead of starting a honeymoon, Rose and David head to West Falmouth to be with Rose’s aunts and to solve a murder. Frannie’s murder exposes long-held secrets that demand resolutions with the power to heal or destroy.
Recommendation for this book
Read it. The historical detail immerses the reader into the Quaker way of life in the late 1880s. The mystery will keep you guessing.